Untold Stories – Celebrating Women Important to Cleveland’s History

Storytellers: Julie Warren, Debra Rose, Ruth Pangrace & Robin Echols Cooper

 
 
 
 

Doors open at 5:00pm, with the storytelling beginning promptly at 7:00pm

• Weekly series combining great food with great stories about Cleveland’s past
• FREE ADMISSION – NO COVER CHARGE
• In addition to our regular menu, we will be offering affordable specials on these nights

Story topic this week…

Untold Stories – Celebrating Women Important to Cleveland’s History
Women In History brings the past to life. Celebrate the remarkable women who shaped Cleveland’s past and inspired its future. Four local actresses will portray famous women from Cleveland’s history, and share their personal experiences. Through engaging storytelling, Julie Wang Warren, Debra Rose, Ruth Pangrace, and Robin Echols Cooper bring to life the lives of Margaret Hamilton, Magdalena Baehr, Zora Neale Hurston, and Lucy Stanton. Their tales of resilience, creativity, and courage prove that Cleveland’s history is full of extraordinary women worth knowing.
 
Magdalena Baehr was a key figure in Cleveland’s 19th-century brewing history, taking over her husband Jacob’s brewery in 1873 after his death and running it successfully for 25 years. Known as “Cleveland’s window brewer,” she raised eight children while expanding the brewery’s production, which was eventually sold to the Cleveland-Sandusky Brewing Company. Her original brewery building is now home to Bookhouse Brewing, which honors her legacy by using original portraits of the Baehrs in its taproom. Performed by Julie Warren

Zora Neale Hurston, (1891-1960), writer, anthropologist, folklorist and documentary filmmaker was a key voice during the Harlem Renaissance. Often described as bodacious, outrageous, and independent (as if that were a bad thing), she traveled through the south and the Caribbean documenting oral traditions, protecting them for future generations. She wrote in the native, musical language that celebrated their own culture, giving permission for other women to speak in their own voice. Often criticized for her honesty in a time when other Harlem Renaissance writers focused on coming up from slavery, she saw beyond color, and celebrated the power and strength of the individual. Her book, Their Eyes are Watching God is one example. Cleveland was one her stops on the lecture circuit, and her collaborations with Langston Hughes at Karamu House, a cultural hub for black artists and writers even then, helped to foster an appreciation for black literature worldwide. Her legacy continues as her writing is frequently featured in academic curricula, book clubs, history programs and exhibitions at Cleveland State University, fostering themes of identity, resilience, and community, central to Cleveland’s own history. Performed by Debra Rose

Born in Cleveland Ohio in 1902, Magaret Hamilton was an actress with the Cleveland Playhouse during its earliest beginnings. Her roles on stage, in the movies, and on television spanned more than fifty years. She was also a kindergarten teacher and a devoted single mom. But what made her most famous of all was a movie role that lasted less than 15 minutes of screen time… as The Wicked Witch of the West. Performed by Ruth Pangrace

Lucy Stanton, born in Cleveland in 1831, was, along with her father John Brown the Barber, very active in the Underground Railroad helping freedom seeker’s in Cleveland as well as Columbus Ohio. Lucy was one of the first women and first African American to be admitted to Oberlin College. She was the first black woman to graduate with a degree in America. She helped start a newspaper in Cleveland and published a book of prose. Lucy later moved to California and started the Sojourner Truth refuge to help women seek better opportunities in life. Performed by Robin Echols Cooper

Julie Warren Bio

Julie Wang Warren, who joined Women in History in 2007, agrees thoroughly with Laurel Thatcher Ulrich’s quote: Well-behaved women seldom make history. Julie is thrilled to be a part of a group that brings to life the stories of women from so many walks of life, regardless of their past behavior. Julie received a BA in English from Heidelberg College.

Julie portrays Amelia Earhart, Ruth Etting, and Mae West with Women in History as well as working with Cleveland Gateway District’s Take-a-Hike program where she can be seen bringing former Cleveland Public Library’s head librarian, Linda Eastman, to life, as well as Ohio’s first Congresswoman, Frances Payne Bolton and former brewery mistress and small business owner Magdalena Baehr, for tour groups.

Julie Warren has been a business owner in Lakewood for over 25 years. She and her husband, Shawn, own and operate Erie Design, a local sign company. Julie was a member of the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, serving as Chair for two years and is the current President of the LakewoodAlive Board of Directors She is a past president of both Lincoln Elementary School PTA and the Junior Women’s Club of Lakewood. Julie is proud to have raised two (mostly) well-behaved daughters, Lindy and Audrey, who are also performers and her biggest supporters. She is an active member of Lakewood Congregational Church (UCC) where she chaired the church’s Executive Team, sings in the church choir and band, co-directed the annual youth musical and is an active participant on the music committee.

Julie is passionate about her community, whether she is organizing the Block Party, or caroling with the Peddlers of Mirth at Light Up Lakewood. Regardless of the ‘stage’, Ms. Warren’s love for her community is what drives her actions and fuels her willingness to participate.

Debra Rose Bio

Debra Rose is an accomplished singer, actress, speaker and writer. Joining Women in History in early 2023, she loves the concept of combining her passion for history, research, writing and acting to bring characters to life in a way that makes them accessible to everyone. In this era of “information overload,” she believes presenting women’s stories in a live, intimate setting can be more valuable and thought-provoking for the audience, than hours spent googling. She is drawn to characters who dared to pave their own way and use their God-given talents and abilities to leave a legacy of excellence, despite gender or race restrictions.

Miss Rose holds bachelor’s degrees in both Music Performance, and Multimedia and Visual Communication. She has toured with various bands, spent several seasons singing with Cleveland Opera Chorus, and portrayed many non-traditionally Black roles including Mother Abbess in “The Sound of Music” and Miss Hannigan in “Annie” in community theater productions. She is a costume designer, poet and has published several volumes of coloring books. She currently resides in Oberlin, Ohio and has a cottage baking business specializing in cookies and cakes and teaches cookie decorating.

Ruth Pangrace Bio

Ruth Pangrace, M.Ed, is a retired Lakewood teacher, and has been with Women in History for more than 25 years. Currently she is the secretary for the group and portrays 16 notable women from the past. Ruth also volunteers at the Hope Center for Refugees in CLE, Meals on Wheels. and enjoys sailing, live music, and spending time with her children and grandchildren. Music Box is always a favorite venue!
 
 
 
 
 
 

Robin Echols Cooper Bio

Robin Echols Cooper is a teaching artist and storyteller. She provides programs in a variety of venues for schools, libraries and many other community events. She presents several historical characters for Women in History.

The goal of the Cleveland Stories Dinner Party is to bring to life some of the fun, interesting stories about Cleveland’s past – from sports, to rock ‘n roll, to Millionaire’s Row, — the series will focus on tidbits from Cleveland’s past that will really thrill the audience. The Music Box is presenting this series in partnership with the Western Reserve Historical Society’s new Cleveland History Center. We think the Cleveland History Center is one of the most important museums in Cleveland. An unknown gem that Clevelanders should know more about, and support. It is the only museum in Cleveland dedicated to preserving and documenting the history of Cleveland. The Cleveland History Center includes two mansions, the Crawford Auto Aviation Museum, Chisholm Halle Costume Wing, Research Library, Kidzibits Hands-On Gallery, rotating exhibitions, and the Euclid Beach Park Grand Carousel.

See all Cleveland Stories dates here.